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University of Northern Iowa
24-7,18-0MVC
Illinois State
17-16,11-7MVC
UNI volleyball marches on to MVC Tournament title match with sweep of Redbirds
11/25/2024 6:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers sit one win away from third straight conference tournament title and NCAA berth. Tickets available for purchase for Tuesday’s championship contest.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- Kira Fallert tied her career-high with six service aces as the UNI volleyball team punched its ticket to its third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament championship match on Monday with a 3-0 semifinal sweep of the Illinois State Redbirds on its home floor.
Northern Iowa posted its sixth straight three-set sweep and won its sixth straight match against the Redbirds overall in Monday's semifinal match. The Panthers, who captured its 22nd MVC regular season title last week with an 18-0 league record, will attempt to win their third straight conference tournament crown and NCAA Tournament berth on Tuesday against either Drake or UIC.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI broke through with an impressive first set after the Redbirds challenged the Panther defense early, rising to the occasion with 14 team kills on .367 hitting. Northern Iowa would shut down Illinois State and force eight attack errors and hold the Redbirds to .000 hitting, scoring 18 of the final 26 points of the frame, including the final eight for a 25-13 win. Kacie Rewerts led UNI with five first set kills, plus a pair of blocks while Cassidy Hartman posted four terminations, along with two service aces from Sydney Golden.
Illinois State once again came out strong on offense to begin the second stanza, triggering a back-and-forth battle with the Panthers. Northern Iowa's offense would begin to click as the set progressed with the purple and gold registering 16 team kills on .500 hitting as Kira Fallert led the charge. UNI would take its first lead of the set at 18-17 and never looked back, closing on an 8-2 scoring run for a 25-19 set win and two set to none lead.
The Panthers bolted out of the gate in the third set with a 7-2 run to open the frame, holding the Redbirds to a .087 hitting percentage. UNI opened up a 22-7 lead before Illinois State scored nine straight points to cut the Panther lead down to single digits before UNI finished on a 3-0 run to complete the 25-16 set win and three-set sweep. Northern Iowa tallied 12 kills on .267 hitting in the final frame, with five total blocks and six aces.
Fallert finished with a match-high 13 kills along with seven digs to complement her six service aces, while Rewerts tallied nine terminations and three blocks. Hartman posted eight kills and a pair of blocks as Olivia Tjernagel recorded five kills and five blocks. Calia Clubb notched five kills, with Golden posting a match-high 23 assists. Reese Booth finished with 12 assists, while Erin Powers tied Fallert with a team-high seven digs.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 61-30 all-time against Illinois State with Monday's win. The Panthers are also 40-18 against the Redbirds under head coach Bobbi Petersen and 14-4 against Illinois State in the MVC Tournament.
- The Panthers' win on Monday was their 55th MVC Tournament victory all-time, extending their own league record.
- Northern Iowa is the first and only MVC team this season to sweep Illinois State in either the conference regular season or postseason.
- UNI has now won 41 consecutive matches against MVC opponents in both the regular season and postseason dating back to the 2022 conference tournament. The Panthers' last loss to an MVC challenger came in the 2022 regular season finale at Drake.
- Calia Clubb made her first career start on Monday, the first time the Panthers have strayed away from their only starting lineup all season. Northern Iowa previously started Cassidy Hartman, Olivia Tjernagel, Kira Fallert, Kacie Rewerts, Sydney Golden, Kaitlyn Sellner and Erin Powers for its first 30 matches of the season.
- Kacie Rewerts has now recorded at least one block in 109 consecutive matches dating back to her career at Drake (2020-23), a streak that began on Nov. 5, 2021 in a match against Missouri State.
- Kira Fallert's six service aces against the Redbirds not only tied a career-high, but were tied for the second-most in a match in MVC Tournament history alongside Illinois State's Laura Doornbos in 2003.
- Fallert's 13 kill performance also put her over 1,400 kills in her career, becoming the eighth player in team history to do so.
UP NEXT
UNI will take on either Drake or UIC on Tuesday in the MVC Tournament championship match at 3 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center. Live coverage of the match can be found on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
Tickets can be purchased online through the UNI Ticket Office, or by calling 319-273-4849 or through email at tickets@uni.edu.
UNI volleyball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Volleyball), X (@UNIVolleyball) and on Instagram (@univolleyball). The full 2024 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
